Loading apparatus



0t l, 1940 R. s. BIGELow LOADING APPARATUS Filed April 5, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 R. S. BIGELOW LOADING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 5. `21.93)

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Patented Oct. 1, 1940 UNITED STATES p 2,216,181 LOADING APPARATUS Roy S.. Bigelow, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Goodman Manufacturing Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application April 5, 1939, Serial No. 266,054

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in loading apparatus, and more `particularly relates to a new and improved mobile loading apparatus of the shaker conveyer `type particularly adapted 5 to load material. onto a face conveyer in mines of low head room.

Heretofore, shaker conveyors having extensible shovels on the forward end thereof have been extensively used for loading coal in narrow working places in mines of low head room. These conveyers have had certain advantages over other types of loading apparatus, which are chiefly due to their low overall height, low initial cost, simplicity in co-nstruction and operation, and ease with which the shovel can be extended into the coal to positively pick it up. Due, however, to the fact that props holding up the roof limit the range of swinging movement of the shovel, and the fact that the entire` conveyer is 2O too bulky to be moved along the working place as the loading operation progresses, such a loading apparatus has not been satisfactory for operation along a long face.

The principal objects of my invention are to provide a novel, mobile conveyer of the shaker type particularly adapted for operation along long faces in coal of low head room, for loading into a face conveyer extending parallel to the working place.

3U Another object of my invention is to provide such an apparatus which is of a low, compact, and unitary mobile construction, so arranged that the entire apparatus may be moved along the ground by power, and the extensible trough section and shovel may be extended and swung by power to pick up material from various places along the working face.

Other objects of my invention will appear from time to time as the following specication proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawings whereiml Figure 1 is a View in side elevation of an apparatus constructed` in `accordance with my invention shown in working position in a mine room, with certain parts of the conveyer drive mechanism broken away and shown in transverse section;

Figure 2 isa diagrammatic plan vew of the apparatus positioned in a mine room, for loading onto a conveyer extending parallel to the working face;

Figure 3 is an enlarged plan view of the apparatus, with certain parts shown in horizontal section;

; Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional View of the clearly understandable.

(Cl. ISS- 220) apparatus taken substantially along line 4-4 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail view of one of of the winding drums, with certain parts broken away and certain other parts shown in horizonl- 5 tal section.

Referring now in particular to the drawings, the embodiment of my invention illustrated in cludes generally a base II), which forms the lower part of a housing for a reciprocable drive mech- 10 anism II, which is adapted to reciprocably drive a shaker pick-up conveyer I2, herein shown as including a trough section I3 mounted on and driven from a reciprocably driven support means I4, in such a manner as to cause material 15 to move therealong (see Figure 4.). Said base is mounted on the ground and may be slidably moved therealong on its bottom to advance the entire apparatus along the working place.

The pick-up conveyer I2 includes an extensi- 20 ble trough section I5, having a shovel I6 on its forward end, which is adapted to be slidably supported on the ground. Said extensible trough section and shovel are operatively connected with the trough section I3 by means of a. feeder head 25 generally indicated by reference character Il, a reciprocating trough section IB, and a swivel I9, which permits swinging movement of said extensible trough section in a horizontal plane, to position the shovel to pick up material from vari- 30 o-us points along the mine face.

The swivel I9 may be of any type well known to those skilled in the art and includes a relatively short trough section having a widened and rounded forward end 20 with outwardly flared 35 rounded sides. This trough section is connected to the forward end of the trough section I3 at its rear end and its widened forward end 20 has the widened rear end of a trough section 2l nested therein and pivotally connected thereto. As o shown in Figure l, the trough section 2I is mounted on ashoe 22 at its forward end, and also has the reciprocating trough section I8 detachably secured to its forward end by means of the usual connecting bolts. 45

The feeder head I1 may be of an automatic type, similar to that shown in the Bergmann Patent No. 2,154,060, and is no portion of my present invention so will only herein be described in suflicient detail to render my present invention 50 Said feeder head includes a bracket 23 mounted on the forward` end of the reciprocating trough section I8 and extending upwardly along opposite sides thereof. A plurality of rollers 24, 24 are mounted on oppo- 55 site sides of said bracket and form a means for supporting said reciprocating trough section on flanged bearing members 25, 25 which project laterally from opposite sides of the extensible trough section I (see Figures 1 and 3). Said extensible trough section is supported above the ground at its rear end on a shoe 2'I and said bracket and rollers thus form a support for the forward end of said reciprocating trough section. Friction grip blocks 28, 28, connected with the bracket 23, are provided to grip the projecting bearing plates 25, 25 upon certain strokes of the conveyer, to extend or retract said extensible trough section, as desired, in a well known manner which is clearly shown and described in the aforementioned Bergmann patent, so will not herein be described in detail.

The conveyer drive mechanism, as herein shown, is of a type having a low overall height and is similar to that shown in Patent No. 1,908,087, which issued to R. A. Walter on May 9', 1933, so will not herein be described in detail. Said drive mechanism includes a motor 29 mounted on the base Ill on a bracket 3B and driving a bevel gear 3l through a bevel motor pinion 33. Said bevel gear is mounted on and drives a vertical shaft 34. A pinion 35 is likewise mounted on said shaft and meshes with and drives a spur gear 3B on a vertical shaft 99 which is mounted on and depends from a cover 3'! for said base and housing. Another spur gear dii, similar to the spur gear 36, is mounted on the cover 3l on a vertical shaft 4I, depending from said cover. Said last mentioned spur gear is driven from the spur gear 35 by means of a spur gear 53. A crank pin 44 is mounted on and depends from each spur gear 36 and lll). Each of said crank pins has a slide t5 mounted on the lower end thereof which is slidably mounted in a slot 45 in a bar 4l. Said bar is pivotally mounted at its center on a vertical shaft 49, which is pivotaly mounted at its lower end in a cross head 50, slidably mounted in a guide 5I, extending along the bottom of the housing and base I0.

The cross head 50, as herein shown, has the upwardly projecting support member I4 formed integrally therewith, which extends through a slot 5ft formed in a cover member 55, covering a central opening in the cover 3l.

Referring now to the means for swinging the extensible trough section I5 about the axis of the swivel I9, a pair of winding drums 59, 59 is provided. Said winding drums are each mounted on the top of the cover 31 and are each encased in a housing member 5D bolted on the top of said cover. Each of said winding drums is of a similar construction and is driven from the shaker conveyer drive mechanism II in a similar manner, so the same part numbers will be applied to each of said drums, and one only will herein be described in detail. The housing 69 forms a bearing support for the upper end of a vertical shaft 6I, which shaft has a winding drum 59 journaled thereon and forms a drive member therefor (see Figure 4). The lower end of the vertical shaft 6I extends within the housing for the conveyer drive mechanism through the cover 3l, which cover forms a bearing support for the lower portion of said shaft. A spur gear 63 is mounted on the lower end of said shaft and meshes with and is driven from a spur gear [ill on the vertical shaft 4I.

A suitable clutch; such as, a jaw clutch 65, is provided to selectively connect the drum 59 with the vertical shaft 6I through a spur gear 66, freely mounted on said shaft just above the winding drum 59. Said spur gear meshes with and drives a spur pinion l mounted on a vertical stud 58 mounted on and projecting upwardly from an upper fia-nge 69 of said winding drum. Said pinion meshes with an internal gear 'l0 formed integral with a flange 'II projecting upwardly from the upper flange 59 of said winding drum, adjacent the outer peripherythereof (see Figures 4 and 5).

A suitable braking means is provided to hold each winding drum from rotation, to permit said respective drum and the cable thereon to serve as a retarding member, and to prevent the idle drum from unwinding too fast and causing an excess amount of slack to form on its associated cable. Said braking means, as herein shown, includes a friction band 'I2 adapted to engage the outer periphery of the flange l' I. Said band may be held iri engagement with said flange by means of a rod I3 which has a head 'I4 abutting a lug 'I5 projecting from one end of said friction band. Said rod extends through said lug and through a lug 'I6 projecting from the opposite end of said friction band and projecting through the housing Bl). A projection 'I1 from said friction band, engaging a notched portion of said housing, is provided to hold the end of the friction band adjacent the lug 'l5 from movement. A hand wheel I8 is threaded in the outer end `of the rod i3 so that rotation thereof in one direction will cause said friction band to tighten on the flange 1I, and rotation of said hand wheel in an opposite direction will permit said friction band to be released from said flange.

Each winding drum 59 has a flexible cable 'I9 wound thereon. Said cables are adapted to be attached to iixed abutments (not shown), for moving the entire apparatus along the ground. Said cables are also adapted to be connected to opposite sides of the trough line for swinging the shovel I6 about the axis of the swivel IS. As herein shown, the cable 79 on the winding drum 59, which is the left hand winding drum when looking towards the shovel I5, may extend around a sheave 89 on the base I0 and around a sheave 8i mounted on a bracket 82 spaced forwardly and laterally from said base. Said bracket may be held in position by means of a jack 83 adapted to be secured between the mine roof and floor. The free end of said cable may be detachably connected to one side of the bracket 23, on a lug 86, projecting laterally therefrom. The opposite flexible cable 'I9 extends around a sheave 85 on the base I, around another sheave B6 mounted in a bracket 81 and adapted to be heldin position by a jack 83. Said cable may be attached at its free end to a lug 89, projecting laterally from the side of the bracket 23 opposite' from the lug 85. The application of power to one winding drum or the other will thus swing the extensible trough section about the axis of the swivel I9 to position the shovel I6 to gather material from various points along the working face without changing the position of the'base Ill. It should be understood that when both cables are connected to the extensible trough section, for swinging said trough section, that a slight amount of tension is maintained on the cable connected to the idling drum by its friction band l2, to prevent the formation of an excess amount of slack on said cable. It should likewise be understood that either one or both of the cables 79 may be used to move the base and drive mechanism along the mine bottom, and that said mechanism may be manipulated o-r turned by using one cable as a draft device and the other cable as a retarding device, using either of the -friction bands lt, to hold the respective winding drum 59 from rotation.

Referring now in particular to Figures l and 2 and the use and operation of the device of my invention, the apparatus is usually started at one corner of the room. During the loading operation, the base l0 may be held in position by means of a plurality of jacks 90, 9i] adapted to be interposed between lsaid base and the mine roof. The discharge end of the trough section I3 may overhang a conveyer 9| extending parallel to the working place. Said conveyer may be of any type but is herein preferably shown as being of the well known belt type adapted to discharge into another conveyer 93 which may transport material out from the working place to the entry. As one section of the working place is completely loaded out onto the belt convey-er 9| by extension or retractionof the shovel I6 as it is reciprocably driven by the ,conveyer drive mechanism and is i moved back and forth across the face by the cables 19, 19, the entire apparatus is moved along the Working place by means of eitherl one or both of the cables 19 to a new location until the entire coal face hasv been loaded onto the belt conveyer 9|. The working place may be undercut again, and the undercut coal shot down and the loading operation be repeated, the apparatus then advancing across the face in an opposite direction.

While I have herein shown and described one form in which my invention may be embodied, it will be understood that the construction thereof and the arrangement of the various parts may be altered without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Furthermore, I do not wish to be construed as limiting myself to the specific embodiment illustrated, excepting as it may be limited in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1, In a material loading apparatus, a shaker conveyer drive mechanism adapted to be slidably moved along the ground on its bottom and including a housing, the bottom of which forms a base for said apparatus, a conveyer trough section reciprocably mounted onsaid drive mechanism and extending thereacross, a drive connection from said drive mechanism tosaid trough section, an extensible trough section having a shovelon its forward end for picking up material from the ground, and a swivel connected between said reciprocating and extensible trough sections, to permit lateral swinging movement of said extensible trough section, said drive mechanism including a motor, a pair of `spaced apart gears driven by said motor and mounted within said housing, said gears being mounted for rotation drums are freely mounted, geared drive connec tions between said shaker conveyer drive gears and the lower ends of said shafts, and clutch means selectively connecting said shafts with said drums adjacent the upper ends of said shafts.

2. In a material loading apparatus, a shaker conveyer drive mechanism adapted to be slidably moved along the ground on its bottom and including a housing, the bottom of which forms a base for said apparatus, a conveyer trough section r-eciprocably mounted on said drive mechanism and extending thereacross, a drive connection from said drive mechanism to said trough section, an extensible trough section having a shovel on its forward end for picking up material from the ground, and a swivel connected between said reciprocating and extensible trough sections, to permit lateral swinging movement of said extensible trough section, said drive mechanism including a motor, a pair of spaced apart gears driven by said motor and mounted within said housing, said gears being mounted for rotation about vertical axes, a drive connection from said gears to said reciprocating trough section, and means driven from said gears for slidably moving said loading apparatus along the ground or swinging said extensible trough section laterally including a pair of winding drums mounted on opposite sides of said trough section for rotation about parallel spaced vertical axes, a flexible feeding member adapted to be wound on` each of said winding drums, friction bands for selectively holding either of said drums from rotation, a pair of spaced vertical shafts upon which said winding drums are freely mounted, geared drive connections between said shaker conveyer drive gears and the lower ends of said shafts, clutch means selectively connecting said shafts with said drums adjacent the upper ends of said shafts, and the connection between eachof said clutch means and drums including a gear coaxial with each of said shafts and adapted to be selectively driven through said clutch means, a pinion meshing with said gear and an internal gear driven by said pinion.

i ROY S. BIGELOW. 

